Ruby Grimshaw nearly causes a pile up

I have already pointed out that one of the most precarious spots for pedestrians to cross the road in Brighton is on Gloucester Place at the bottom of North Road where the cars can travel in three directions and there is a network of bus and cycle lanes. So you would think that I of all people would not attempt to cross here against the lights, right? Especially with that wreath of flowers attached to a lamp post. Not so.

Last week, seeing that the road was clear in all directions except for two cars away in the distance travelling north, I set off. It was only when I was half way across that I saw a mobility scooter travelling at a speedy rate of knots on the inside lane. My immediate reaction was to stop and wait for it pass, but if I did that I realised that the cars, now much closer, would have caught up with me. So I flung myself across the road, missing the mobility scooter by a whisker, and accompanied by screamed abuse from the mobility person. I could not blame her. She was well within her rights I guess, as she would not have been allowed to progress at that speed on the pavement.

“There will come a time when I can go shooting all over Brighton in my shiny mobility wagon”

This set me thinking that there is an advantage after all in getting too old to stagger down to the off licence on one’s own pins and there will come a time when I can go shooting all over Brighton (and Hove) in my shiny mobility wagon. My friend G will be able to join me in hers. I am always nagging her to slow down her driving and stop tailgating, and since my eyesight is getting a problem in poor light, together we would probably stand a good chance of getting ASBOs. I can imagine us flying down Albion Hill like those young band members in the video. That is definitely something to look forward to.

The number of people over 70 is increasing so there are going to be loads of us on our mobility machines. What a thought! They will have to make mobility lanes, or perhaps we could share the cyclists’ ones? I can envisage a lot of collisions. The cyclists may have a reputation of being quite aggressive, but I don’t think they would stand a chance with the average elderly person. But if the person who nearly ran into me is reading this I do apologise. Definitely mea culpa.